A Chance To Be Somebody
by ABVPxSAVP
Summary: Steve has always felt like a nobody around town. Then his chance comes around to be known, even on the west side. When things come easy though, there's always something dangerous behind it.
1. Chapter 1

It was a regular night at the Curtis household. The three brothers were eating dinner with two of their friends, Johnny Cade and Two-Bit Mathews. It was a hot night in June and the greasers were getting ready for a humid weekend.

"So how was roofing in today's weather Darry?" Two-Bit asked.

Darry sighed, "Don't ask."

Two-Bit gave a laugh, "What about you Soda?"

"Oh I'm sure Steve had it ten times worse. I went out to the garage once and it was a sauna," Soda said.

Two-Bit turned towards Ponyboy, "See, Pony? This is a very good reason not to have a job."

"Two-Bit, how many daily reasons to not have a job are you going to give Ponyboy? You're the last influence he needs," Darry said.

"Oh Darry, Pony's too smart to listen to Two-Bit. And Dally's the last influence we need, Two-Bit comes in second," Soda commented.

"Okay, okay, I think we all know I'm the best influence compared to plenty of greasers in our neighborhood," Two-Bit said.

"Two-Bit, all I've learned from you is symptoms of brain damage," Pony said.

As the gang laughed, Two-Bit smirked, "You're going to let your smartass little brother talk to _me_ like that?"

Darry nodded, "It doesn't bother me."

Just then the front door was heard being opened and shut. Sodapop's best friend, Steve Randle walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Steve," Soda greeted.

"Hey guys," Steve said looking out of breath

"Hungry?" Darry asked, "Got plenty of food tonight."

"No thanks, I'll pass."

"Why you so out of breath?" Two-Bit asked, "Did you run here?"

Steve nodded, "Actually, yes I did. I have to talk to Soda."

Soda got up from the table, "We'll go walk around the block and come back, Darry."

Darry nodded, "Alright."

Steve hurried out the front door and Soda followed behind. "Gees Steve, you high or did the heat really get to you? I haven't seen you this energetic in forever."

"I got great news, Soda! No, not great, it's awesome! Come on," Steve said already at the street. Soda jumped off his porch and followed Steve down the street. "So as I clocked out of work, Tim Shepard comes by. Says he wants to talk to me."

"Oh Steve, please don't tell me his gang is getting in a rumble with the Brumly Boys again," Soda said. For the past few months the Brumly Boys had been really getting on Tim Shepard's nerves and his gang had been fighting them a lot to teach them a lesson. Tim had constantly asked Dally and the gang to help him, but Dally claimed it was worthless and childish, so they had never helped them out.

"No," Steve answered, "I think Tim's ego would go down to a new low if he started asking me or anyone else in our gang besides Dallas for help in his little fights."

Soda nodded, "True, but I heard it was starting to get rough. His sister, Angela came to the DX today with one of her friends. They bought a few Cokes and Angela said she overheard Tim planning on having a real rumble with them, not a small rumble. Like one we would have with the Socs."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Tim did that. But who cares, I got amazing news!" Steve said getting jumpy again.

Soda laughed, "What is it? What did Tim have to say?"

"Okay, you know that drag race track about thirty miles from here? That real big one, owned by Austin Bruce and his gang?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Soda asked.

"Tim said Austin Bruce was having a drag race competition. And you know as well as I do that if Austin Bruce is having a drag race competition, it's a big deal," Steve said. Soda did know that. Austin Bruce was 24 years old and his entire gang was in their 20's. Everyone on the east side saw them as the 'oldest' gang. Anytime Austin Bruce did something, everyone knew about it. Soda wasn't too fond of the guy. Neither was Darry, Dally didn't really like the guy either.

"Yeah, so let me guess, you're going to race in this competition?" Soda asked.

Steve shook his head, "No way. _We_ are racing in that competition."

"Huh?"

"Come on Soda, we both love drag racing. This is with Austin Bruce and his gang; it's going to be awesome!" Steve said excitedly.

Soda shook his head, "I'm going to have to pass Steve."

"Why?" Steve asked.

"Darry already hates that I drag race. Doing it at Austin Bruce's track is just asking for major trouble. You've heard what goes on at his track."

"Those could be rumors, Soda; we've never been there before."

"Oh come on, Steve. It's Austin Bruce. When is anything about Austin Bruce a rumor?" Soda asked.

Steve sighed, "Alright, buddy, I understand."

"I'm sorry Steve," Soda said feeling a little bad, "I just can't go for this. I don't think you should either."

"Oh, but I am," Steve said.

Soda looked at him in shock, "What? Why, Steve?"

"I don't know, it's going to be fun to actually race on that track," Steve said. Soda looked at Steve doubtfully about his answer. "What?"

"Steve, I know you better than that. You could care less what track it's on as long as you can race. You could care less whether it's a competition or just a night out at the track. And usually whenever one of us doesn't race, the other one doesn't go, like we're a team," Soda said.

Steve wasn't sure how to reply to that, because he knew Soda was right. "Sorry Soda, guess I just got really excited about it." Soda could feel Steve's once full energy drown.

"Talk to me, Steve, why do you really want to do it?" Soda asked.

Steve sighed, "Soda, you know whenever Austin Bruce does something, everyone knows about it. Not just us on the east side either, even the west side knows."

"So it's all about popularity?" Soda asked.

"Well no, not exactly," Steve said.

Soda waited for Steve to say more, "Then what Steve?"

"I'm just sick of being a nobody, Soda. Sure I have friends, but barely anyone knows my true passion with cars and how good I am with them. If I do this race, and get far, or even win, everyone's going to know me," Steve explained.

Soda nodded, "Yeah, they would. But Steve, you'd probably be one of the youngest people there, and it's going to get dangerous."

"Oh Soda, I've been around plenty of dangerous things," Steve said annoyingly, "I'm not asking for your permission to do this. I thought you'd be happy for me."

"I'm just trying to help you out, Steve. I'm just telling you what I think, that's what best friends do," Soda said. They both just stood there in silence for awhile, unsure of what to say or think. Soda didn't want his best friend getting in a dangerous position, but he knew Steve would do it anyway. "Do what you want, Steve. I'll support whatever you do. I'm just saying what I think, okay?"

Steve nodded, "I know. I'm sorry I yelled. I just really want to do this; I have a really good feeling about it."

"Well," Soda began, "If you really believe in it, then go for it. You have my support."

Steve smiled, "Thanks buddy. Hey I'm going to head home and call up Tim about it. I'll come over tomorrow, alright?"

"Alright, sounds good."


	2. Chapter 2

Once Steve got home, he went straight to the kitchen telephone. His father wasn't home, and Steve was real happy about that. Even if his father kicked him out his mood wouldn't be ruined, it would just be harder to talk on the phone with his father around. He always got paranoid and thought Steve was calling the fuzz on him or something.

When a voice answered the other line, Steve said, "Hey Curly, is your brother home?"

"I think so, hold on a sec," Curly said. Steve heard the phone get set down and impatiently waited. He couldn't remember another time he was so excited about a drag race. This was different, though. What if he actually won? Why couldn't he? He had a high chance of beating anyone on that track. He knew more about cars than anyone in Tulsa, maybe even anyone in Oklahoma. "He wants to know who is calling."

"It's Steve Randle."

"Oh, right. I thought I recognized the voice. Hold on." That was another thing. Even people that knew Steve fairly well barely recognized his rough voice over the phone. Shows how much people really cared about the Randle kid. Sometimes Steve felt like people only knew him in a way because he was Sodapop Curtis's best friend. What if he wasn't Soda's friend? Would people even know his name?

"Hey Steve, what's up?" Tim asked.

"Hey Tim, I just wanted to let you know I'm in for the drag race," Steve said with confidence in his voice.

"Great. What about Soda?"

"Well, unfortunately he's not interested. I'll go for it anyway, though," Steve said.

"Sounds good. You're going to need to call Austin Bruce and let him know. I'll give you his number and everything you need to tell him. I suggest having a paper and pen with you, he'll give you information on when and where and anything else, but he won't repeat it. He's a strict dude," Tim explained.

"Alright, I can do that," Steve said rummaging through a kitchen drawer. He pulled out a pen and used the back of a mail envelope, "What's his number?"

"555-0162. Now it's rare Austin answers his own phone, his gang is usually at his house all the time. So just ask for Austin Bruce, whoever answered will automatically ask you what the occasion is and just say you're interested in the drag race competition that's being held. I'm only telling you all of this, because they can deny you before you even tell them you're name," Tim said.

"So how do I get on his good side?" Steve asked.

"Just stay firm, and keep confident. You're a cocky person, Randle. I don't expect you to have too much trouble with him. I do want you to call me back and let me know how it went."

"Alright, I will. Hey are you racing?" Steve asked out of curiosity.

"No. I was just passing the word around. I'm not much of a drag racer, but I'm planning on going to watch. Catch some good action," Tim responded.

"Okay. Well I'm going to call him and I'll give you a call back."

"Alright," Tim said and hung up. Steve put the phone down and all of a sudden his excitement dropped. He got nervous to really call Austin Bruce. _They can deny you before you even tell them you're name. _Steve thought about that. What if he told the guy who answered the phone he was interested in the race and they didn't like his overly cocky tone and hung up? Steve couldn't have that. He wanted to be in this race so bad. He _needed_ this race.

"Just do it," Steve told himself as he lifted the phone off the receiver again, "If Tim Shepard has confidence in you it has to mean something. Tim doesn't tell people that every day, or every year." Steve slowly dialed each button and held himself back from hanging up. Each ring that went by another part of Steve's confidence died. If no one answered, he wasn't even sure if he would have the guts to try again later or tomorrow.

"Hello?" The voice was deep and rough. A voice that put a seven foot buff guy in your head.

"Hey is Austin Bruce there?" Steve asked surprised that his voice sounded normal.

"What do you want?" the voice asked.

Steve took a deep breath and replied, "I'm interested in the drag race competition Austin Bruce is holding."

"Hold on a minute," the voice said. Steve held his breath hoping this would actually work. Before he could even start imagining what it would be like to win the race again, he heard a click. Whoever had answered the phone had hung up, or maybe Austin Bruce hung up. Steve's heart dropped as he hung up his phone.

"Damn," he mumbled. He began tapping his fingers on the kitchen counter. What did he do wrong? Steve was so upset and angry. He was ready to punch a hole in his wall. He shoved the phone and stormed outside.

After walking in the cool breeze for awhile, he ended up at the Curtis's house and walked inside. Everyone was still there, except Two-Bit had left. Darry was sitting on the couch reading a book while Soda, Pony and Johnny were in the kitchen playing cards.

"Hey Steve," Darry greeted, "Everything alright? Did your dad kick you out?"

Steve shook his head, "No, he wasn't even home. I just wanted to come back over. I'll go home later."

"You're welcome to stay here for the night if you'd rather do that. It's a Friday night, I'm sure Soda will sleep down here with you since you guys don't have work tomorrow," Darry offered.

"Thanks, I'll think about it."

Darry nodded, "Alright. You hungry at all? There are still leftovers I can heat up for you."

"No thanks, I'm really not that hungry," Steve responded walking into the kitchen.

"Hey guys," Steve greeted as he sat down at the table, "What you playing?"

"Just old fashioned poker, want to play?" Soda asked. Steve nodded. He needed something to get his mind off Austin Bruce and the drag race. After a few hands, Soda nudged Steve. He mouthed 'Are you alright?' to Steve. Steve nodded in response. It was probably showing that something was on his mind as he sucked at every hand.

After a couple hours of playing, Johnny and Ponyboy went upstairs to the brother's bedroom. As Soda collected the cards, he repeated, "Are you alright? You seem rather down compared to earlier."

"I'm fine Soda."

"Something's bothering you," Soda said.

Steve nodded, "I don't really want to talk about it right now."

Soda accepted it and got up from the table to put the cards away. "Are you spending the night?"

"I don't know. I might, I don't really want to deal with my dad tonight if he comes home."

"He's out?"

"I'm guessing. He wasn't home when I got there," Steve said.

"Well if you're having that bad of a night, you can stay. It's just weird you were all energy earlier. I'm guessing things didn't go so hot with Austin Bruce?" Soda asked.

"You could say that," Steve said.

"Sorry buddy," Soda said returning to the table with two slices of chocolate cake and two glasses of chocolate milk.

"No thanks, Soda. I really don't have an appetite."

"Oh come on, Steve. When girls are upset, they devour chocolate and somehow the world's at peace again. It might work for us guys you know," Soda said with a smile. Steve couldn't help but smile back and laugh a little. He was thankful for having a joking best friend as he ate the cake. "Now we can complain about girls and blame them for all of our problems."

Steve laughed as he felt a little better, "I didn't even get to talk to Austin."

"Really?" Soda asked.

Steve nodded, "But damnit Soda, I'm not going to quit trying. I want this race so bad, I'm going to do anything I can to get it."

Before Soda could respond, Darry called from the living room, "Hey Steve, come here." Soda and Steve both got up and walked to the living room. Tim Shepard was at the front door.

"Ah, so he is here," Tim Shepard commented, "Let's go talk, Steve." Steve easily walked outside with Tim as Soda and Darry exchanged glances. Once the door was shut, Tim said, "I've been trying to reach you for the past hour. Then I figured I'd come here and find you, and I did.

"Sorry Tim," Steve said.

"I'm taking it you were denied," Tim claimed.

"Yeah, the guy said he'd go get Austin, but then the phone was hung up like seconds afterward," Steve said.

"Bummer, sorry kid. You seemed to have a shot at it," Tim said lighting a cigarette.

"I still do," Steve said.

"How?" Tim asked, confused.

"Tim, I want this more than I wanted my first car. This is the chance I've been waiting for. I'm not going to give up so easily," Steve said.

"You have guts, Randle, that's what I like about you. But you know you're dealing with Austin Bruce. If he denied you once, he's not going to accept you."

"Maybe and maybe not. I didn't even give them my name, so who knows. All I know is I'm going to keep trying. I will get in that race," Steve said heading back to the front door.

"Randle."

"What?" Steve asked turning back to Tim.

"You said this is the chance you've been waiting for. Chance to what?"

"Be somebody in this town," Steve answered and walked back in the house without another word.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a little before six the next morning when Steve awoke. He didn't really sleep at all with everything on his mind. He slowly got up from the couch. Johnny was asleep in the armchair as he snuck into the kitchen. Picking up the phone, he dialed Austin Bruce's number again, even though it was way too early to even try this. Maybe he'd get impressed with Steve's tactics to get into the race. Surprisingly, someone answered. They didn't sound too tired either, like they were use to being awake this early.

"I need to speak to Austin Bruce," Steve said in a low, but demanding voice.

"For what?" the voice asked.

"Concerning the drag race competition he's holding," Steve replied. Right away the person hung up the phone. Accidentally, Steve slammed the phone down cursing. He froze, waiting for one of the brothers or Johnny to awake. No one did. Steve walked back over to the couch and just sat there. He began to think. Tim Shepard said Austin Bruce and his gang should be impressed with how cocky he is, so how could he show that he's cocky without caring what big shots think? Steve was going to consider that before trying to call again.

A thought struck Steve then. He didn't even know when the race was, or when it started. Hurriedly, he rushed back to the phone and dialed the Shepard household. Normally, Steve would be ready for Tim to kill him for calling so early, but everyone knew how focused Tim Shepard was on the Brumly Boys that he just didn't care what anyone else did at the moment.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tim, it's Steve, I'm sorry to disturb you so early," Steve said.

"It's not a problem, I've been up for a good hour anyway," Tim said and Steve realized that Tim did sound rather awake, "What do you need?"

"Well it just hit me that I don't even know when the race is suppose to start. So how long do I have to try and convince Austin Bruce to let me in the race?" Steve asked.

Tim paused for a moment, "It's a week from today. So you have until next Saturday."

Steve nodded. It wasn't a lot of time, but he would get in that race. Nothing was going to stop him. "Thanks Tim. So, just out of teenage curiosity, why would you be up since like five?"

Tim laughed a bit on the other end, "Just taking care of good old fashioned business, my friend."

"What did the Brumly Boys do now?" Steve asked.

"Nothing, just got to have plans ready." Steve was always surprised at how serious Tim Shepard could get about these things. He treated his gang and all the other gangs like businesses competing against one another. Of course, he would always back up the other gangs on the east side when needed. The Socs was a different story, though. Tim then acted like it was two countries at war. Gangs and survival of the gangs was a serious thing for Tim Shepard.

"That's true. Well good luck with that and thanks," Steve said.

"No problem. Good luck with everything," Tim said then hung up. Steve decided to go for a walk and get some fresh air. Maybe once his head was clear he could think straight about the race. Quietly he stepped out of the house and started walking down the street in the cool air.

Once he got out of the neighborhood, he was surprised to see Dally walking down the street towards him. "Why is everyone up so early?" Steve mumbled to himself.

"Hey Steve," Dallas said flicking his cigarette into the street.

"Hey Dal," Steve replied back, "What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep, so just out walking. Maybe sneak into the Curtis's and try to sleep," Dally responded, "What're you doing?"

Steve shrugged, "Just going on a walk to clear my head. You can use the couch, Johnny's on the armchair."

"Cool," Dally nodded, "I'll see you later." Steve nodded back as Dally continued walking towards the Curtis's.

"Hey Dally," Steve called before going his own way.

Dally turned, "Yeah?"

"Did Tim Shepard get a hold of you?" Steve asked. He wondered if Dally knew anything about Tim's big planning.

Dally looked at him sort of confused, "No. I told him to leave me out of the Brumly Boys. Why? Did he say something about them to you?"

"Sort of. He said he was making plans for them for the next time they tried something," Steve said.

Dally shook his head, "He's just an idiot sometimes. Just remember I told you all if he tries to get you to help him and you do, I'll kick your head in. I'll catch you later Steve."

Steve began walking down the street again. He did remember Dally telling the gang he would kick their heads in if any of them tried helping Tim Shepard. When Two-Bit asked why, Dally then said it was stupid and childish. Steve knew there was something else behind Dally's reasoning, him and Soda both agreed on that, but they figured it didn't matter. Probably just him and Tim Shepard having a big argument like they sometimes do. Whatever the reason was, the gang wasn't planning on helping Tim; it did seem rather dumb that two gangs from the same side of town were against each other.

What Steve didn't understand while he and Soda discussed it was why Tim was so mad at the Brumly Boys. They really weren't worth getting so mad at. They were just dumb when they tried to act cool and they were just dumb to begin with. That gang annoyed everyone. Soda figured Tim Shepard had gotten overly annoyed with them. It just seemed too low for Tim to want to hurt a gang so badly that's on the same side of town though, and when it's the Brumly Boys, it just wasn't worth it. Whatever the reason was, it was Tim Shepard's and his gang's business.

Steve hesitantly pulled out a cigarette, but then immediately threw it in the grass. He had been trying to quit for awhile now. About a couple months ago, Steve was getting a really bad cough, spitting up gunk and having a pain in his chest. Fearing his lungs were the cause, he decided to quit smoking. Whether it really was his lungs or not, Steve refused to go to the doctors. He wasn't the type of person to go to a doctor's office. It was hard and he had broken down and smoked a few times, but the coughing was subsiding in time, so it probably wasn't too serious. Still, it wasn't a bad idea to cut back and possibly quit for good. Soda thought it was a good idea and supported him for it.

Continuing his walk, Steve took in deep breaths of fresh air trying to calm himself. It was a little difficult to take deep breaths at times, but Steve stayed strong and figured it'd get better. Steve had walked all the way back to his house and got in his car and ended up going for a drive. Intentionally, he ended up at the track owned by Austin Bruce. He wanted to see it and get a feel of what it was going to be like at the race once he got in it.

Steve parked his car on the side of the street. It was a bit of a walk down the field so that the fuzz wouldn't see the drag racing going on, but Steve didn't want to risk driving through the field. It didn't look like anyone else did anyway; there weren't other tire marks dented in the grass. As he walked, Steve did notice the mess the field was. The place use to be a park maybe ten years ago. Steve never went to this park, because of how far it was and the fact there was already a park in his area. He had seen it, though. It was pretty nice; the one in his area was becoming worn down and not many kids used it anymore. This park probably would have looked worn down too if they hadn't torn it down.

It wasn't an empty field. There were lots of trees still growing in the area, some probably on top of where the park use to be. It lead to a forest-like area. It was dark as trees were everywhere. Steve walked through the trees; it sure was a long way. Steve wasn't even sure if he was going the right way. He knew where the general area of the track was, but he wasn't sure how to find it. It had to be hidden though; everyone knew that, so through these trees was the best bet.

Finally Steve got through the trees and found it. Well he found a gate. He obviously hadn't gone the right way where an entrance probably was, but he found part of it. Excitedly, Steve climbed the fence and hopped over. He landed on some dirt and looked around and was surprised at what he saw. He had landed on part of the dirt track.

Holding his breath, Steve started taking small steps across the track. It was huge, much bigger than the other tracks he had been to. Steve turned his head slowly side to side, the fence went all the way around and there was space behind the fence for people to watch. Across from Steve was where the fence opened to let the cars in. Steve couldn't believe the track. Now he knew he needed to race here.

At the start the cars began going straight and then would hit a sharp left turn. There were little hills at some areas and more sharp turns. A couple of times the track crossed over itself. Finally ending at the beginning again. Steve couldn't believe the intensity of this track. He walked across the track towards where the fence opened to find the actual entrance to this place.

"Hey, kid! What're you doing here?"


End file.
